Calif. Killing Spree Suspect Found Dead

Sept. 10 -- A bloody weekend rampage ended early this morning when a man suspected of killing five people in the Sacramento area shot himself in the head after a high-speed chase and gunfight with police, officials said.

Joseph Ferguson, 20, who had been recently suspended from his job as a Burns security guard, allegedly shot to death five people in three locations during a 24-hour killing spree that began late Saturday. It was the second multiple slaying case in the area in less than a month.

Early Sunday, Ferguson killed two security guards who had been his co-workers and took a car at a Sacramento equipment yard, police said. He then reportedly drove to a marina where he shot and killed two more people, and then to a zoo where he handcuffed a security guard and took her car.

During the day Sunday, Ferguson allegedly went to the home of a former supervisor and took the man and his wife hostage for 12 hours. Authorities said he eventually killed the supervisor, an employee of Burns security who was not immediately identified.

Police said he videotaped some of his crimes throughout the day, and vowed on camera to kill others.

"In essence, he gave his final message to us and to his family. He pretty much was bent on killing some additional people and his message was that he was going to shoot it out with some police officer," said Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas.

In the barely audible video, Ferguson, sporting a military-style haircut and brandishing a gun, apologizes to the relatives of his victims but says, "I giveth and I taketh away … that's how it goes in [expletive] life. I put on a hell of a show. I've taken four victims, this should be good enough to last about a week on the news. It's time to feed the news media."

"I'm going to make L.A. look like a [expletive] joke," Ferguson added. "I'm going to go down in [expletive] history."

Chase and Shootout, Then a Suicide

Ferguson was spotted by California Highway Patrol officers at about 11:30 p.m. PT Sunday in Rancho Cordova, just outside of Sacramento, Calif.